Monday 10 November 2014

Pheasant Photos

I photographed this male Pheasant as it reached the top of a hill and then later the hen running madly down a lane away from me.  They can reach up to 36 inches in length and 2 to 4 pounds of weight.  Males are much larger than females.  Males and females do not look alike.  This phenomenon is known as sexual dimorphism. Males are brightly coloured and covered with golden, brown, green, purple and white feathers. Head is red and equipped with small crest.  Neck is green and have white collar. Females are covered with brown plumage. Young males are brown in colour until the age of 10 weeks when they become brightly coloured.


Pheasants have long, strong legs with four toes equipped with sharp claws. Males have long tails, have excellent eyesight and sense of hearing which are used for detection of predators.  They can run at the speed of 8 to 10 miles per hour and fly at the speed of 35 to 45 miles per hour. Pheasants are also able to swim.


Pheasants are omnivores (their diet includes animals and plants). They usually eat seed, berries, fruit, insects, worms and small reptiles. They are able to dig one foot through the snow to find food during the winter and can survive without food for a couple of days.  Main predators of pheasants are foxes, hawks and owls which hunt young birds and raccoons and skunks which feed on the eggs although we do not have those in Northern Ireland.


Male (rooster) forms harem of 3 to 7 females (hens) during the mating season.  Hens lay around 12 (up to 20) eggs. Incubation lasts 23 days. Mother takes care of the chicks until they learn to fly. That usually happens two weeks after hatching.  Females have several broods per year. They sometimes even adopt abandoned or lost chickens.


Pheasants have low survival rate. 35% of young birds die before they reach the age of 6 to 10 weeks. Only 2-3% birds manage to survive to the age of 3 years. 

A group of pheasants may be known as a flock or a bouquet however a large group of is known is a nye or nide.

Thank you for visiting and  also for leaving comments.

28 comments:

  1. How marvelous! It is such an intriguing bird. Wonderful photos Margaret, love the first particularly.

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  2. Superb images, he and she look like they were made for each other, lol. Beautiful number 1.

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  3. I suspect people are a significant predator too.
    I have heard that they are not 'lightening lennie' in the brain department. Is that true do you know? They males are certainly beautiful and their wives have a subtle charm too.

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  4. The male is such a beautiful bird and common enough for me to see them regularly.

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  5. Beautiful plumage. It's sad that so few of them survive. Interesting information about them, Margaret.

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  6. These are really gorgeous birds and some that I never see in Texas. Interesting that their survival rate is so low. You facts are always so interesting!

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  7. Male pheasants are handsome birds. We have them here but I have never seen one.

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  8. That last one is a cracker Margaret. Yes, we find out all about their weight when they crash unexpectedly into a car. One flattened my wing mirror lately.

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  9. fabulous to catch him so proud!

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  10. BEAUTIFUL Pheasant photos Margaret! I love it when I can get good quality shots of pheasants. That's hard to do around here.

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  11. Lovely images Margaret of this fabulously patterned species.

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  12. You got some good shots with his proud tail held high. I've always loved how beautiful they are. My brother in law used to hunt them. We had a tough crock pot meal of pheasant at their house one night. I just thought about how I'd rather be enjoying their beauty than their taste.

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  13. I grew up in South Dakota, and there were pheasants everywhere (it was the state bird). My dad used to hunt pheasants. They are really good to eat.

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  14. Margaret, thanks so for the information on pheasants and the stunning photos. We had South Dakota pheasant for Christmas more than a few times thanks to a friend who would go hunting there in the fall!

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  15. This is a spectacular bird!!! Only one time, when I was in my twenties, I saw one running down the street, who knows where it came from? Why is the survival rate so low for the chicks, do they not hide well enough? Truly, this bird is like a work of art to look at!

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  16. My they are such beautiful birds.

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  17. The pheasant is magnificent! Congrats on a beautiful set.

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  18. Beautiful shots of the pheasants. Those males certainly are colorful.

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  19. Hi Margaret, Great pictures of the pheasants. They are such gorgeous birds --and I love the colors of the males. Beautiful! Sad to hear about their survival rates....

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  20. The male Pheasant is a gorgeous bird.

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  21. Beautiful birds with lovely colors.

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  22. Lovely photos - I really do love pheasants - so colourful :)

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  23. Gorgeous birds! I only ever had fleeting glimpses from moving vehicles while I lived in the UK, but they certainly captured my attention. You can really see the spur on the male's ankles in your wonderful photos!

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  24. The male is very handsome! However, it's not fun to wake in the morning from a pheasant calling at the top of his lungs under your window.

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